[ + ] Text [ – ]
What states have which laws regarding marriage equality?
While two states (Massachusetts and California) uphold the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, there are four states — Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, and New York — that officially pledge non-discrimination against marriages between same-sex couples.
- Because New Mexico’s laws do not prohibit marriage between same-sex couples, there is no impediment to New Mexico same-sex couples marrying in Massachusetts or California and having their marriage honored in New Mexico. While Massachusett’s government directed that licenses could be given to New Mexico couples, the New Mexico state government has not taken action to ensure they will be honored.
Anti-gay initiatives in California, Florida, and Arizona have qualified for the ballot in November 2008. Each would write discrimination into their state constitutions, and California’s would take away the equality and fairness achieved by California’s Supreme Court ruling to uphold the freedom to marry in May 2008.
Various states now offer broad protections short of marriage including civil unions in Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New Hampshire and broad domestic partnerships in California and Oregon. Smaller packages of protections for same-sex couples are available in Maine, Hawaii, Washington, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. All of these states continue to work toward marriage.
Why Marriage Matters America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry.
By Evan Wolfson
Read reviews! Purchase the book or receive a signed copy as a thank you for your donation!
Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.
Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.
